Why Is Blue Dog Blue?
written with George Rodrigue,

illustrations by George Rodrigue

About the Book

“Artists don’t have to paint things the way they really are.”

Louisiana-born artist George Rodrigue has created a bookshelf of popular titles that feature his famously quizzical Blue Dog. It was great fun to work with him to write the first Blue Dog book for kids. I knew right away that we should write a color book that would go beyond the traditional rainbow colors. I’ve always loved the subtle difference in color shades, as well as the ear-tickling poetry in color names like plum, chartreuse, auburn, and periwinkle. We added some playful puns to the mix and came up with a book that pays tribute to Blue Dog’s origins as well as the artistic urge to create.

Here’s a cool post about a group of fourth-graders who did some pretty inspirational artwork of their own, inspired by our book (don’t forget to look at the frames around their pictures!)